Quake strikes rural China

(Vatican Radio) At least 381 people are dead after an earthquake struck southwestern China. Close to 2,000 people are known to be injured.

Authorities are urging all-out efforts to help those affected, as Alastair Wanklyn reports:

The quake struck towns and villages in southwestern Yunnan province, toppling buildings, crushing people inside. Chinese state television showed medical teams treating head injuries and broken limbs, setting up makeshift treatment centres amid the rubble. Rescue workers searched for survivors trapped between collapsed concrete floors.

China's president, Xi Jinping, was quoted urging all-out efforts to save lives and help those left homeless in the region, near Zhaotong City.

Many survivors are now without running water.

Landslides and debris left many roads blocked. China's prime minister said a priority was to clear the way for relief teams to reach the hardest-hit areas and to restore communications.

The magnitude 6.5 tremor was described as the worst in that region in 14 years. But six years ago, a larger earthquake in neighbouring Sichuan province left tens of thousands of people dead.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon was quoted saying the U.N. was ready to respond to humanitarian needs and would also "mobilize any international support needed." The United States White House offered China help, if asked.